Netlify selected Astro as its preferred frontend framework for its developer hub and marketing site due to its simplicity, flexibility, and high performance. The small team responsible for the project needed a tool that could be easily understood and controlled while also offering advanced features for future development. Astro's opt-in model allowed them to start simple and gradually add complexity as needed. Additionally, the ability to combine Astro with other frameworks like Vue, React, Solid, or Svelte provided flexibility and potential for content management tooling. The thriving community around Astro also contributed to its appeal. Netlify's support of Astro does not make it "Netlify's framework," as the open-source project is independent and can be used with any hosting provider.